Discover the key to true prosperity from the story of Rebekah

When I stand on that crude wooden platform at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Sumbawanga, you are there through your generosity!

This month we are in a city in the interior of Africa called “the place of witchcraft”. Sumbawanga is a provincial capital in Tanzania, and the name means just that, “a crossroad where witches meet”.

That’s why preachers have shied away from this region. But we know from the Book of Acts that once Jesus is revealed, the power of witchcraft is broken and multitudes are drawn to Christ. Before I tell you more about Sumbawanga, allow me to share a powerful teaching:

“But a generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand”

(Is. 32:8).

Do you know that giving and generosity is not the same thing? It’s possible to be a giver and still not be generous. Generosity is an attitude. True God-given prosperity comes to the generous person.

A generous person is not mean-spirited, fault-finding or legalistic. The generous are big thinking, mercy-motivated, non-condemning, free-spirited persons, who go the extra mile.

• Abraham showed extraordinary generosity by offering the land he had been promised by God to his nephew Lot (Gen 13:9).

• David was generous by showering wealth on Mephibosheth, the crippled son of Jonathan (2 Sam 9:7).

• Jesus showed generosity when He turned water into 180 gallons of wine – not just ordinary wine, but the best wine – at the end of the feast when it was hardly needed (Jn 2:6-10).

• Paul demonstrated generosity by hard work and by prospering in order to support those who traveled with him (Acts 20:34).

David prayed, “Uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Ps 51:12), because the Holy Spirit makes us generous. There is more. Generosity opens the door of destiny. Here’s an incredible story.

When Abraham sent his chief servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for Isaac, Eliezer took ten camels loaded down with gifts for the woman who would be selected as Isaac’s bride.

Eliezer looked for a sign – the sign of generosity.

He asks God that when he requested a cup of water from the woman who is to be Isaac’s wife, she will also offer to water all ten camels. Soon the most beautiful woman Eliezer has ever seen appears, and when he asks her for a cup of water, Rebekah asks if she could also water the camels.

Think about what it means to water ten camels, because one camel drinks up to 25 gallons in one sitting. That means 250 gallons of water were needed. If Rebekah would carry 5 gallons at a time, she’d have to make 50 trips up and down the stairs to the well. One thing is certain. Rebekah was a very generous woman, eager to bless others!

What Rebekah didn’t know, was that her generosity would open the door to a destiny beyond her wildest dreams. Within a few hours, Rebekah’s family had been loaded down with gifts, and she was on her way to become Isaac’s wife, and the mother to Jacob and the whole Jewish nation.

What does this mean for us?

Abraham is a picture of God the Father, and Isaac is a picture of Jesus Christ. Eliezer is a picture of the Holy Spirit, who has been sent out into the world to find and prepare a bride for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit comes laden with gifts of blessing, wisdom and healing for each one of us.

Rebekah was that “generous person”, who “devises generous things”. This kind of person thinks about how to bless others, and the result is that “by generosity he shall stand”. Rebekah devised a generous plan, and generosity opened her door of destiny.

I can tell you one thing about the partners and friends of World Impact Ministries; I believe I have the greatest, most willing-hearted and generous partners in the whole world. Thank you for your enthusiasm, your faith and your love.

Like Rebekah, God and you are making plans to show generosity, and your generosity puts you in God’s rhythm of giving and receiving.

The people of Sumbawanga are among the poorest of the poor. This great Gospel Campaign is deep in the interior of Africa, far from any amenities. So why are we going? Here is the deal. There is a treasure of hundreds of thousands of precious souls waiting, people who have been overlooked, neglected by preachers, but ready to hear the word of life of Jesus Christ.

Our Missions’ Director and our local team is already on location, working every day to spread the word to the entire region. When I stand on that crude wooden platform at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Sumbawanga, you are there with me through your love, your prayers and your generosity.